A robot trained on videos of surgeries performed a lengthy phase of a gallbladder removal without human help. The robot operated for the first time on a lifelike patient, and during the operation, responded to and learned from voice commands from the team—like a novice surgeon working with a mentor.

The robot performed unflappably across trials and with the expertise of a skilled human surgeon, even during unexpected scenarios typical in real life medical emergencies.

  • nickwitha_k (he/him)@lemmy.sdf.org
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    5 hours ago

    So… Judging by recent trends in AI, this will be used to devalue the labor of surgeons and be provided as the only option available to people who are not rich. People will die from what would get a human charged with neglegent homicide but, it will be covered up and, when it comes to light just how dangerous it is, nothing will happen because all of the regulatory agencies have been dismantled.

  • ChicoSuave@lemmy.world
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    5 hours ago

    Not fair. A robot can watch videos and perform surgery but when I do it I’m called a “monster” and “quack”.

    But seriously, this robot surgeon still needs a surgeon to chaperone so what’s being gained or saved? It’s just surgery with extra steps. This has the same execution as RoboTaxis (which also have a human onboard for emergencies) and those things are rightly being called a nightmare. What separates this from that?

  • xthexder@l.sw0.com
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    7 hours ago

    This was a new word for me, so I had to look it up: It’s an… interesting choice of words to describe the success of a robot.
    Of course a robot would perform the job unflappably, it is emotionless by design. I’m pretty sure it would go right ahead and murder the patient unflappably as well. The robot “keeping its cool” is not even a question.

    That said, this does sound very impressive, even if I think there’s some pretty crazy risks involved. Hopefully they have more respect for the problem then self-driving car companies.

  • catty@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    so theoretically they could make sex bots and train them on… so they perform ‘unflappably’!

  • Lovable Sidekick@lemmy.world
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    7 hours ago

    “OMG it was supposed to take out my LEFT kidney! I’m gonna die!!!”

    “Oops, the surgeon in the training video took out a Right kidney. Uhh… sorry.”

    • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      know what? let’s just skip the middleman and have the CEO undergo the same operation. you know like the taser company that tasers their employees.

      can’t have trust in a product unless you use the product.

      • cactusupyourbutt@lemmy.world
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        9 hours ago

        I understand what you are saying is intended as „if they trust their product they should use it themselves“ and I agree with that

        I do think that undergoing an operation that a person doesnt need isnt ethical however

  • Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works
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    12 hours ago

    So are we fully abandoning reason based robots?

    Is the future gonna just be things that guess but just keep getting better at guessing?

    I’m disappointed in the future.

  • DrunkenPirate@feddit.org
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    18 hours ago

    And then you‘re lying on the table. Unfortunately, your case is a little different than the standard surgery. Good luck.

    • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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      17 hours ago

      At some point in a not very distant future, you will probably be better off with the robot/AI. As it will have wider knowledge of how to handle fringe cases than a human surgeon.
      We are not there yet, but maybe in 10 years or maybe 20?

      • its_prolly_fine@sh.itjust.works
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        7 hours ago

        The main issue with any computer is that they can’t adapt to new situations. We can infer and work through new problems. The more variables the more “new” problems. The problem with biology is there isn’t really any hard set rules, there are almost always exceptions. The amount of functional memory and computing power is ridiculous for a computer. Driving works mostly because there are straightforward rules.

      • nyan@lemmy.cafe
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        17 hours ago

        I’d bet on at least twenty years before it’s in general use, since this is a radical change and it makes sense to be cautious about new technology in medicine. Initial clinical trials for some common, simple surgeries within ten years, though.

        This is one of those cases where an algorithm carefully trained on only relevant data can have value. It isn’t the same as feeding an LLM the unfiltered Internet and then expecting it to learn only from the non-crazy parts.

        • curbstickle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          13 hours ago

          This is one of those cases where an algorithm carefully trained on only relevant data can have value.

          Hopefully more people learn that this is the important part.

          It becomes nonsense when you just feed it everything and the kitchen sink. A well trained model works.

        • yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca
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          17 hours ago

          it’ll definitely get the greenlight in countries like China before anywhere in the west, I believe

            • yardratianSoma@lemmy.ca
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              10 hours ago

              Just a hunch, since technological advancements seem to hit the public realm much faster in places like China, in the cities especially. I don’t know what the laws are like there, but I’ve heard rumors that there is less government regulations for technologies that can benefit the general public, like drones and automated metros. Oh yeah, and how could I forget about the robots they show off at conventions, to take the place of receptionists and other customer-facing positions.

      • DrunkenPirate@feddit.org
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        16 hours ago

        I doubt it. It simply would be enough, if the AI could understand and say when it reaches its limits and hand over to a human. But that is even hard for humans as Dunning & Kruger discovered.

      • SheeEttin@lemmy.zip
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        17 hours ago

        Fringe cases yes, like rare conditions. It almost certainly won’t be able to handle something completely unexpected.

        • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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          13 hours ago

          The AI will (probably) be familiar with every possible issue that no human will be able to match.
          I’m not sure what kind of “completely unexpected” situation is possible can happen, that a normal surgeon would handle better?
          But I agree it would have to be a lot smarter than current LLM and self driving for instance. Like a whole other level of smarter. But I think that is where we are heading.

            • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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              10 hours ago

              As well as a human, and without fucking up because of stress.
              Also my guess is these would be monitored by trained professionals.

    • otacon239@lemmy.world
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      18 hours ago

      realistic surgery

      lifelike patient

      I wonder how doctors could compare this simulation to a real surgery. I’m willing to bet it’s “realistic and lifelike” in the way a 4D movie is.

      Biological creatures don’t follow perfect patterns you have all sorts of unexpected things happen. I was just reading an article about someone whose entire organs are mirrored from the average person.

      Nothing about humans is “standard”.

      • alleycat@feddit.org
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        17 hours ago

        I wonder how doctors could compare this simulation to a real surgery. I’m willing to bet it’s “realistic and lifelike” in the way a 4D movie is.

        I think “lifelike” in this context means a dead human. The robot was originally trained on pigs.

      • Zexks@lemmy.world
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        17 hours ago

        Right I’m sure a bunch of arm chair docs on lemme are totally more knowledgeable and have more understanding of all this and their needed procedures than actual licensed doctors.

        • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
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          9 hours ago

          More than the doctors? No, absolutely not.

          More than the bean counters who want to replace these doctors with unsupervised robots? I’m a lot more confident on that one.

    • HubertManne@piefed.social
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      18 hours ago

      and since its been the way its been for awhile sugeons know more theoretically how to do surgery rather than practically so can’t really take over.

      • DrunkenPirate@feddit.org
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        14 hours ago

        That’s a different thing indeed. In your case the AI 🤖 goes wild, will strip dance and tell poor jokes (while flirting with the ventilation machine)